The second stealth-guided missile destroyer of Project 15B, which was built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited, was delivered to the Indian Navy on Thursday. When commissioned, the ship will be christened INS Mormugao.
The contract for four ships of Project 15B was signed in January 2011. This project is a follow-on of the Kolkata-class destroyers built under Project 15A commissioned over the last decade. The lead ship of Project 15B, INS Visakhapatnam, was commissioned into the Indian Navy in November last year.
Designed by the Warship Design Bureau, Indian Navy’s in-house organisation and built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd in Mumbai, the four ships of the project are christened after cities from four corners of the country — Visakhapatnam, Mormugao, Imphal and Surat.
The keel of Mormugao (Yard No 12705), named after the port city in Goa, was laid in June 2015 and the ship was launched in September 2016. “The design has largely maintained the hull form, propulsion machinery, many platform equipment and major weapons and sensors as the Kolkata class to benefit from series production,” the Navy said in a press statement.
The ship is 163 metres long and 17 metres wide, has a displacement of 7,400 tonnes when fully loaded and has a maximum speed of 30 knots. The overall indigenous content of the project is around 75 per cent.
The destroyer is armed with indigenous weapons including medium-range surface-to-air missiles, BrahMos surface-to-surface missiles, indigenous torpedo tube launchers, anti-submarine indigenous rocket launchers and the 76mm super rapid gun mount.
The ship had sailed out for her maiden sea sortie on December 19 last year to coincide with the Goa Liberation Day. “The delivery of Mormugao is an affirmation of the impetus being given by the Government of India and the Indian Navy towards ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ as part of celebration of the ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’,” the Navy statement said.
“The early induction of the destroyer, almost three months prior to the contractual date, despite the COVID challenges, is a tribute to the collaborative efforts of large number of stakeholders and would enhance the maritime prowess of the country in the Indian Ocean Region,” it added.
